Portable and adjustable lamp holder



R. T. PEAT,

PORTABLE AND ADJUSTABLE LAMP HOLDER. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 16. 1920.

1,403,863. Patented Jan. 17, 1922.

2 $HhETSSHEET L 0' .u 2i 0426f 2 26 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PORTABLE AN D ADJUSTABLE LAMP HOLDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 17, 1922.

Application filed August 16, 1920. Serial No. 403,904.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RICHARD T. Paar, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Kansas City, county of Wyandotte, State of Kansas, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Portable and Adjustable Lamp Holders, of which the following is a complete specification.

his invention relates to portable and adjustable lamp holders, and more especially to that class of spot lights .for automobiles which are connected by a cable to a reel so that the lamp can be employed to direct light upon any part of the car. Spot lights of the character indicated if used to direct light under the car, must either be held by the operator or an assistant or must be propped up by any convenient means and are therefore not well adapted to enable one to make adjustments or repairs when occu ying a position under the car. The chief o ject, therefore, of this invention is to provide a holder which is not only portable, but which can be readily and quickly secured upon any part under the car which is available for the purpose, regardless of the size or shape of such parts, and which likewise shall constitute a support for the lamp standard when in its normal position in order that the rays of light of the lamp may be directed on the roadway at a considerable distance ahead of the car. A further object is to produce a holder of simple, strong, compact and inexpensive construction which can be readil and easily manipulated for shifting the in crum of the clamping jaws of the holder in order to adapt them to grip parts of different proportion. With these ob ects in view, the lnvention consists in certain novel and useful features of construction and combinations of parts as hereinafter described and claimed; and in order that it may be fully understood reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of a holder embodying the invention, the same being shown as mounted on the wind-shield of a car and forming a support for a spot-light of the type mentioned.

Figure 2 is a view part1 in top plan and M1 in horizontal sections on the line TI- I of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a vertical section taken on the line IIIIII of Fi re 2.

Figure 4: is a top p an view on an enlarged scale of the holder proper, the same being broken away to disclose a part otherwise hidden.

Figure 5 is a side view of the holder as shown in Figure 1, with the push-rod shown in section on the line V-V of Figure 1.

F i ure 6 is a section taken on the line VI- I of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a cross section on the line VII-VII of Figure 4.

Figure 8 is a detail perspective view of one of the clamping jaws of the holder.

In the said drawing, 1 indicates one of the side standards of the wind-shield of a car and 2 is a clamp secured to said standard and provided with a housing 3 containing a reel or drum 4: for the electric cable 5, the rear end or" the cable being electrically connected in any suitable manner to a battery or other source of electric energy, not shown.

The cable leads to a spot light lamp'6 through a cross shaped casting,7,which forms a support for the lamp or head light, and said casting is mounted on a vertical stud 8 for rotatable adjustment thereon in a horizontal plane. The casting is provided at its lower side with a rosette 9 engaging an underlying rosette 10 from which said stud 8 projects, and engaging the upper end of said stud is a clamping nut 11, which clamps upon the casting a resilient disk 12, the upper side of the casting being recessed as at 13 in order that the disk may apply resilient pressure thereon and thus yield sufliciently to turning pressure applied on the lamp, to permit the same to direct its light to one side or the other without necessitating unscrewing movements of the clampin nut 11 to permit of actual disengagement Tetween the rosettes. At the same time, the latter are held by such yielding pressure against accidental relative turning movements.

Depending from rosette 10 is a neck portion 14 and at the lower end of the same is a rosette 15 facin rearward and disposed at right angles to the rosette 10 and mounted upon a horizontal threaded stud 16 rojecting from a rosette 17 on a stem 18 of a split sleeve 19 equipped with a clamping screw 20. A nut 21 corresponding in construction and function to nut 11, engages the threaded end of stud 16, and a c ampin disk 22, for pressing the rosette 15 yiel ingly into engagement with the rosette 17, so that the lamp lap can be swungrto the right or left around the, stud 16. he construction described. provides for practically universal adjustment of the lamp as will be readily understood.

The sleeve 19 fits upon a vertical post 24 and is clamped rigidly thereon by the clamping screw 20. The post 24 telescopes in a vertical sleeve 25, and the latter is provided with a slot 26 through which slidingly extends a clamping screw 27 carried by the post 24 and adapted to engage the sleeve and hold the post with the lamp at the desired height. The sleeve is provided with a guide lug 28 for the cable 5. and is screwed at its lower end upon the threaded stud 29 of a rosette 30 engaging a rosette 31, and held into engagement therewith by a clamping nut and disk of the same type as those already described and therefore not detailed, and the rosette 30 by proper adjustment with respect to rosette 31, enables the sleeve and post to be swung to the right or to the left as occasion demands and thus gives the lamp a wider range of adjustment. A rosette 32 disposed horizontally, is secured in the manner already described with respect to the other rosettes, upon a rosette 33, so that all ofthe parts previously described can be rotated on the last named rosette which is mounted at the front end of the stationary member 34 of the holder, said member cooperating with a pivoted member 35 in firmly gripping a suitable support, such as the wind shield post shown, or any other suitable part of a car. The members 34 and 35 are equipped with removable jaws 36."

A horizontally arranged casing 37 of whicharm 34 constitutes a rigid part, encloses the adjustable arm 35 except the jawcarrying end thereof, and said arm is pivoted at 38 in a pair of toothed blocks 39 adapted to interlock at their toothed edges with toothed edges 40 of slots 41 formed in the top and bottom sides of the casing. The opposite edges of said slots 4-lare preferably recessed as at 41*- and fitting into said slots are wedges 42, adapted when fully inserted in the slots to secure the blocks 39 in interlocked relation with the teeth 40 at any desired point along the length thereof, and thus adapt the jaws to grip objects of different diameter. To change the fulcrum point of arm 35, the wedge 42 is withdrawn until it rests in the recess 41. The jaw can then be quickly adjusted to set its blocks 38 at the desired distance from the stationary arm 34. This fulcrum-fixing wedge 42 is pivoted to a lever 43 connected pivotally by link 44 to arm 34, and engaged at its rear end by a spring-catch 45 to hold the wedge in position, a spring 46 interposed between and carried b ,arm 34 and the lever tending to swing .the atter outward when the catch 45 is repressed, to dispose the handle end of the lever at a more convenient point to be gripped and manipulated.

To impart pivotal movement to the arm 35 ot' the jaws, a headed pin 47 extends through arm 34 and is pivoted to arm 35. By applying pressure on this pin, the jaws are caused to tightly engage and clamp upon the desired support, and in order to .secure them in this relation, arm 35 is provided with ratchet teeth 48 for engagement with corresponding teeth on a cross-bar 49 fitted in an opening 50 in the upper side wall of the casing 37. A pair of springs 51 secured to the casing apply pressure upon the bar 49 to hold it interlocked with the teeth 48 of arm 35. the arrangement being such that thc headed pin 47 can be forced inward to effect approaching movement of the jaws, but cannot be pulled outward until the bar 49 is first raised to disengage its teeth from teeth 48. To accomplish this, a lever 52 is fulcrnmed at 53 on the casing and is pivoted at its end to the bar 49. Pressure upon the lever will overcome the resistance of springs 51 and raise bar 49. and while the same is held elevated, the headed pin 47 can be pulled and thus effect opening movement of the jaws.

From the foregoing. it will be apparent that when it is desired to employ the lamp at a point beneath the car, for example, the operator by applying pressure on lever 52 and pulling outward on the headed pin 47. can disengage the jaws 36 from the windshield and carry the support to one side or the other or to the rear of the car and introduce it below the latter at the most convenient point for the operator. If the bowed jaws 36 shown are not appropriate for engagement with the part on which it is desired to support the lamp for the time being, other jaws may be substituted which are appropriate. so that the holder may be secured firmly in such position as'to enable the operator to adjust the lamp for directing the rays of light at exactly the point desired.

It will be apparent that the holder may be modified in construction in various particulars without departing from the principlem construction and mode of operation involved, and it is to be understood that I reserve the right to make such changes as properly fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A holder for a lamp and the like comprising relatively moving jaws, one of them having a. series of teeth. a toothed bar engaging the teeth of said jaw with a yielding pressure to permit closing movement thereof, and means to trip said bar from engagement with said teeth to permit opening movements of said jaw; said arm having a shiftable fulcrum at a point between its jaw and said se' ries of teeth.

2. A holder for a lamp and the like, comprising an arm having a jaw at one end, a

casing of which said arm forms a part, provided with a slot, a pivot block in said slot, a second arm pivoted to said block and provided with a jaw for cooperative action with the first named jaw, a wedge engaging said slot and said block to clamp the same rigidly in position, and means to withdraw said wedge to permit said block and said second arm to be shifted.

3. A holder for a lamp and the like, comprising an arm having a jaw at one end, a casing of which said arm forms a part, provided with a slot, a pivot block in said slot,

a second arm pivoted to said block and provided with a jaw for cooperative action with the first named jaw, a wedge engaging said slot and said block to clamp the same rigidly in position, means to withdraw said wedge to permit said block and said second arm to be shifted, means to pivotally operate said second arm-and means to secure the same rigidly against opening movements.

4;. A holder for a lamp and the like, comprising an arm having a jaw at one end, a casing of which said arm forms a part, said casing being'provided with a toothed slot, a second j aw-canrying arm pivoted'in said casing and provided with a series of teeth for engagement with the teeth of said slot, a wedge in said slot, and means iorcausing said wedge to clamp the teeth of said arm in interlocking engagement with the teeth of said toothed slot.

5. A holder for a lamp and the like, comprising an arm having ajaw at one end, a c-asing'of which said arm forms a part, said casing being provided with a toothed slot, a second jaw-carrying arm pivoted in said casing and provided with a series of teeth for engagement with the teeth of said slot, a wedge in said slot, means for causing said wedge to clamp the teeth of said arm in interlockin enga ement with the teeth of said toothed s ot, an means for holding the said pivoted arm against pivotal movement.

6. A holder for a lamp and the like, comprising an arm having a jaw at one end, a casing of which said arm forms a part, said casing being provided with a toothed slot, a toothed block in said slot for engagement with the teeth thereof, a second jaw-carrying arm ivoted in said toothed block, means for inter ocking the teeth of said slot and said block, means for imparting pivotal action to said second jaw-carrying arm, and means for locking the same against pivotal movement.

7. A holder for a lamp and the like, comprising an arm having a jaw at one end, a casing of which said arm forms a part, said casing being provided with a toothed slot, a toothed block in said slot for engagement with the teeth thereof, a second jaw-carrying arm pivoted in said toothed block, a wedge extending through the slot and abutting said block and adapted to interlock the teeth of said two last-named members, means for imparting pivotal action to said second jawcarrying arm, and means for locking the same against movement.

8. A holder for a lamp or the like, comprising an arm having a jaw at one -end,'a casing of which said arm forms a part, said casing being provided with a toothed slot, a toothed block in said slot for engagement with the teeth thereof, a second jaw-carrying arm pivoted in said toothed block, a wedge extending through the slot and abutting said block and adapted to interlock the teeth of said two last-named members, an operating pin pivotally carried by said jaw-carrying arm at the end opposite from its jaw and adapted for imparting pivotal movement to said arm, a series of teeth carried 1) said arm, and means for interlocking engagement with said series of teeth to lock thearm against pivotal movement.

In witness whereof, I hereunto attach my signature.

RICHARD T. PEAT. 

